Of course, getting back on one's feet wasn't such a simple or easy thing, but at the very least, Gotham Song once again saw the spark of hope return to Almond Eye's previously half-dead eyes.
Yet, she couldn't help but feel that Almond Eye's current smile seemed to harbor a hint of bad intentions… Was it just her imagination?
Gotham Song couldn't figure it out, and Almond Eye wasn't planning to give her any time to ponder it, either—now that she'd regained her spirits, Almond Eye certainly wouldn't grant the person in front of her too much time to think clearly. Without hesitation, she took Gotham Song's hand, leading her straight out of the park, and walked along the bustling city streets with her, looking around as if they were the closest of friends.
This sudden change left Gotham Song quite astonished—but since it was clearly a good thing, there wasn't much to say. So she simply chose to follow along with Almond Eye's whims.
Speaking of which, though initially she'd been very reluctant to go out shopping with other Uma Musume, now she surprisingly felt little resistance… Was it because she'd shared such experiences with so many different Uma Musume by now?
Gotham Song's narrow brain likely wouldn't ever find the answer in this lifetime, so she simply gave up thinking about it, instead sinking into the soft feeling of Almond Eye holding her hand.
Although it somehow feels strange, like I've forgotten something important… Ah well, it doesn't matter. As long as it ends well, who cares? Even if something does happen, I'll just leave it for future me to worry about, hehe.
Almond Eye pulled Gotham Song along for a very, very long stroll. It had still been quite early in the morning when they started out, but by the time they waved goodbye, the sun had already made a full circle through the sky and now approached the western hills.
Gotham Song waved her hand, watching Almond Eye head off toward the platform where they'd part ways.
Just as she was about to turn and leave herself, Almond Eye suddenly shouted loudly from afar, calling out her name in a voice loud enough for everyone around—indeed, loud enough for as many people as possible—to hear clearly:
"Gotham Song! I'll absolutely defeat you! Gentildonna won't be able to stop me!!!"
Gotham Song didn't respond to this. She merely waved her hand again, turned around, and began her own journey home.
This kid really has some nerve, huh… Very good. If that's what you're thinking, then try your best. I don't mind facing your challenge, no matter how many times.
However, on her way back, Gotham Song was actually thinking about another matter, related but somewhat distant from Almond Eye herself.
Almond Eye had mentioned previously that she had no Trainer. But given her position, there was no way she was actually being raised in such a free-range style, right?
Considering the URA was currently under fierce attack from forces like the Mejiro Family, the Symboli Family, and Secretariat herself, Almond Eye was practically their most critical leverage to achieve results and make a comeback. If Gotham Song herself were a manager within URA, even if she tolerated Almond Eye's refusal of a Trainer due to her own wishes, she would at least arrange appropriate support and training plans for her, right?
In other words, no matter how she looked at it, Almond Eye instinctively running straight to Gotham Song at her moment of collapse was incredibly puzzling.
Gotham Song thought deeply, and as if suddenly realizing something, she immediately called Secretariat.
Obviously, despite the substantial time difference, Gotham Song's call went through smoothly—Secretariat didn't even make Gotham Song wait more than a few seconds before picking up.
"What's up, Song-san? I just woke up and was brushing my teeth. Your call's really unexpected."
"Ah… Oh, there's a time difference, right…? Cough, anyway, I want to ask you something, Secretariat-san—something I can't quite figure out myself."
Perhaps going back to look it up herself would've been possible, but directly asking would get faster results. However, Gotham Song genuinely had forgotten about the time difference completely.
After coming to her senses, Gotham Song quickly got straight to the point, directly explaining Almond Eye's mental state from what she had witnessed.
After all, Gotham Song was just a Great Escape idiot. Her understanding of URA's internal structure certainly didn't reach that deep—but Secretariat was different. She should know very clearly.
After all, this woman had likely made countless secret plans just to undermine URA, right?
Yet, after quietly listening to Gotham Song's full explanation, Secretariat's initial reaction was simply to let out a long sigh.
Then, the very first thing she said nearly caused Gotham Song—who was currently sitting on the train—to lose her composure.
"You really went and dealt a brutal blow, didn't you?"
Actually, Secretariat had been closely watching Gotham Song's races all along, and though she'd never directly interacted with Almond Eye herself, her extensive experience allowed her to accurately guess this Uma Musume's character. It could only be said that Gotham Song's hand wasn't nearly as delicate and fair as it appeared—it was black-hearted beyond measure.
It could easily make a young filly soar straight into the sky!
Secretariat herself had mentally prepared for something like this—rather, she'd experienced something similar before. Of course, not in the role of a Trainer, but as a teammate who listened to others' complaints. Though back then, her own response was rather different…
She'd simply grabbed that teammate and kept running until the other Uma Musume had no spare energy left to think about anything else…
In any case, why Almond Eye reacted like this was indeed an intriguing matter.
"Song-san, before I answer your question, how about you answer one of mine first?"
"Eh? Ah, go ahead. I'm listening."
Secretariat curled her lips slightly, having already anticipated what Gotham Song's answer would likely be. But well, she still wanted to hear it clearly herself.
"Song-san, how would you evaluate your own level as a Trainer—especially compared to Japan's other Trainers?"
"What kind of question is that? No, wait—do you even need to ask…?"
Let alone the fact that she hadn't held a Trainer license for very long, just considering her actual involvement, her level shouldn't be particularly high, right?
Sure, the overall results of Eternal Beat weren't bad—the team's only Uma Musume currently racing, Gentildonna, was even challenging the Triple Tiara—but!
But Gotham Song still felt she hadn't done enough for Gentildonna, since Gentildonna's training was genuinely disciplined on its own, and didn't require much interference—she only had to set plans and little else.
Apart from training itself, perhaps she was better at tactical planning than many other Trainers…?
Yet even so, the tactics for the Oka Sho had been formulated together with a legendary Trainer like Dancing Brave. The Japanese Oaks tactics had simply been fine-tuned from the experience and reflections after the Oka Sho. No matter how she looked at it, her actual abilities as a Trainer really shouldn't have reached a level worthy of being called "outstanding," right?
At least, until this very moment, that was exactly how Gotham Song saw herself.
"Well… While I wouldn't call myself a terrible Trainer, I'm definitely not exceptional enough to claim to be one of the best, right? Most of the time, it's Dancing Brave helping me train everyone anyway."
"So that's what you really think, huh, Song-san? How surprising. Outside your identity as an Uma Musume, you're surprisingly modest?"
Secretariat teasingly said this, clearly unsurprised—indeed, she'd expected this exact answer. Gotham Song, of course, heard the hidden meaning clearly, but…
Wasn't this just the truth?
Acknowledging reality wasn't embarrassing at all. It wasn't about lacking arrogance—it was just that Gotham Song genuinely didn't think she had reached an unbeatable level as a Trainer.
Forget everything else—Dancing Brave was just far too exceptional!
"It's just the truth, anyway—why wouldn't I acknowledge it?"
"Then… Song-san, if I said the truth was exactly the opposite of what you just described…"
"How would you respond?"
How would I respond…? What do you mean—hey, wait, I don't understand at all, Secretariat-san. Completely opposite to what I think? Could it be that among Trainers, my ability actually ranks surprisingly high? But no matter how I think about it, something like that sounds extremely weird, doesn't it?
She hadn't even been a Trainer for a full year yet…!?
Maybe among rookies she could rank first, but against all those seasoned veteran Trainers… Huh…?
"Looks like you're pretty confused, huh? But this actually answers the question you came to me about, Song-san."
"As the strongest among Japan's currently unaffiliated Trainers who are close to Almond Eye—and as the very Demon Lord and destined rival she's set her sights on—wouldn't it be natural for something like special dependence to develop between the two of you?"
"It seems this kind of dynamic has become especially popular among young people these days."
Just what kind of misunderstanding do you have about young people…? Rivals are just rivals. They're supposed to stay rivals, okay!
Of course, even Gotham Song herself didn't have much confidence in that idea. After all, this world was this world, and her views were practically heretical here. Maybe in a little pony medieval era, she'd even face some sort of brainwashing torture, forcing her to become fanatically obsessed with her rival.
"In short, first off, you're extremely important to Almond Eye-san—perhaps even someone who appears in her dreams every night. And secondly, there's another, more practical reason you might not know about."
"It's that the overall level of Trainers in the world right now is actually shockingly bad."
Gotham Song could clearly sense the helplessness in Secretariat's voice. And as the other mare continued speaking, Gotham Song gradually understood why things had become like this.
Simply put—
The entire Uma Musume community, particularly within the Trainer circles, was still stuck at a primitive stage of merely providing tactics and physical conditioning. Even though this sport had been developing for so many years, they still hadn't managed to systematize strategies for short 2,000-to-3,000-meter races?!
On one hand, Trainers who had actual experience and skill tended to keep their knowledge secret. And on the other, it was simple enough—even if many Trainers had tried to have their Uma Musume execute race tactics…
But…
There were far too few Uma Musume who could actually carry out those tactics and adapt flexibly to real-time race situations.
In most cases, no matter how much a Trainer emphasized certain tactics, once the race started, Uma Musume tended to slip easily into a state of pure instinct.
When racing purely on instinct, even the best tactical arrangements became nearly useless. No amount of pre-race preparation made much difference. And because this happened so frequently, this style had gradually become the mainstream.
Over time, while race tactics remained a subject worthy of study for Trainers, they'd increasingly come to be ignored.
"There's no point in learning this—your Uma Musume won't be smart enough to apply it anyway."
Perhaps that summed up their attitude perfectly. After hearing Secretariat's explanation, Gotham Song also began to feel deeply frustrated.
But of course, this wasn't the end. Secretariat still hadn't finished her point.
"However, there are still some Uma Musume capable of executing such tactics—for instance, your Donna-chan, or that cute little Vernal-chan. Although Uma Musume like these are a minority, there's still a decent number out there. Yet the vast majority of Trainers don't actually formulate proper race plans for their Uma Musume."
"As a result, Almond Eye-san—who is undoubtedly intelligent enough—has probably lost faith in the tactical skills of those helping her. So, when she panicked and lost direction, it was only natural for her to seek you out. After all, you're incredibly important to her and exceptionally reliable in that regard."
Secretariat laid out her reasoning clearly and, as if she were delivering some kind of public lecture, began lamenting to Gotham Song about the state of Trainers—her voice full of helpless frustration.
She spoke of how Trainers nowadays were even worse compared to their own era, obsessed only with physical conditioning, completely disregarding anything else. They focused solely on running styles and never nurtured adaptive decision-making abilities.
No matter how instinctively an Uma Musume might run, at the very least, shouldn't Trainers try to understand how to cultivate those who could move beyond mere instinct?
And worst of all, Japanese Trainers were particularly bad about this!
They stubbornly believed that pedigree was everything—madly snatching up Uma Musume with excellent bloodlines, while ignoring those whose parents were less famous. Unless an Uma Musume without a strong pedigree achieved remarkable results, they wouldn't even spare her a glance!
Gotham Song pulled at the corners of her mouth. This was honestly the first time she'd heard Secretariat complain so much about anything…
Clearly, the Uma Musume on the other end of the phone was deeply bothered by this state of affairs.
And truth be told, Gotham Song felt the same way. Now that she understood, she could clearly grasp the situation Almond Eye was currently in:
Right now, that kid was fighting all alone.